This CD is sub-titled
‘The Richard Bonynge Edition’. As the
note in the bulky booklet, with translations
in German, French and Italian points
out, Bonynge’s 40+ year career, whilst
being notable for the role he has played
in reviving interest in the ‘bel-canto’
and French operatic repertoire, has
only involved him in conducting four
Puccini operas. Maybe this should have
been sub-titled: ‘Vol. 1 of the Cheryl
Barker Edition’! Whilst not as well
known world-wide as Bonynge, Barker
has a devoted following in Australia,
her native country, as well as in Europe,
particularly Britain, where she is known
as a highly skilled and committed singer
who gives her all on the stage.

Cheryl Barker has a
very individual vibrant lyric soprano
voice that conveys much emotion. There
is within the voice a beat that helps
in conveying the passion in Tosca’s
‘Vissi d’arte’ (tr. 8) and agony in
Butterfly’s ‘Un bel di’ (tr. 9). But
these are big ‘sings’ in the opera house,
and in a large theatre, such as London’s
Coliseum, where she sang two series
of Tosca in 2003, Barker must beware
of pressing her tone too hard, or that
vocal vibrancy so appealing here in
those two mentioned roles, could become
a wide vibrato and worse, a wobble.
Here on CD, there is no such worry and
her tone, support of the voice and vocal
characterisation is a joy. She is also
heard to particularly good effect as
Mimi (trs. 5-7), Angelica (tr. 14) and
Manon (trs. 3-4) whilst she is perhaps
not gentle enough as Liu (trs. 16-17).
The voice is too large for Magda (tr.
12) where there is a little waver towards
the end of the aria.

As the renowned opera
critic Rodney Milnes writes in his detailed
and informative essay on ‘Puccini’s
Little Women’, the composer gave them
big music to sing. Consequently great
sopranos have been drawn to the genre
and many have set their interpretations
down on disc. Kiri Te Kanawa (Erato)
has a lovely even lyric voice but her
conveying of character wouldn’t set
the world on fire, ever; on the contrary
Barker’s voice and interpretation has
that potential. Whilst, as yet, lacking
the skill Caballe exhibits on EMI under
Mackerras, Barker’s interpretations
make as satisfying a disc of this demanding
repertoire as I have heard in a long
time. The content is more complete than
most and has the advantage of chronology.
Barker conveys the two songs (trs. 18-19)
with grace and eloquence to orchestrations
by Brian Castles-Onion.

The capacious booklet
has a libretto with translation into
English only. Beware: the total timing
shown, as 71:20, is wrong; it should
read 63:34. It would have been helpful
if the track numbers had been given
in the libretto and page numbers cross-referenced
in the track-listing.

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